โจโจ๐ถ ๐๐ข๐๐-๐๐๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ก๐ข ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค ๐ถโจโจ
"Life-affirming Balochi folk that canโt fail to stir something inside any member of the human race. At 80, Ustadโs fairytale rise to the global stage isnโt quite as remarkable as the first benju note you hear ringing through his junkshop amp. A dizzying melange of sound from classical raag to zahirook, Persia to Kurdistan, birdsong to Bollywood - an unmissable musical experience that transcends time and space." - ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง'๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฝ
Inspired by birdsong and told through the twisting tones of the benju, Ustad Noor Bakhsh's music straddles the space between modern-day Pakistan and Iran, evoking a vivid tapestry of emotion. Music that ignites the soul. ๐ฅ๐ฅ
For listeners unfamiliar with Balochi music, Noor Bakshโs electric Benju tone and his melodic ornamentations will be reminiscent of Ali Farka Toureโs style, and polyrhythmic sixes and eights with so much groovy innovation and improvisation will make the body move in ways very similar to the music of West as well as East Africa. This is unsurprising, given the well-documented migrations and seafaring, historical, intimacies between Balochistan and Africa, via the greater Indian Ocean world. It is this world that his music brings back to life.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ
๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ค๐ก๐ฌ๐ก
+ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ
๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ
๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐.๐๐๐ฉ๐ฆ
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ, ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฅ
- ๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ
๐ถโจโจ Ustad Noor Bakhsh, from near Pasni, Balochistan, is a master of the Balochi Benju (a keyed Zither), which he has played since he was a child. Noor Bakhsh is well known as a legendary instrumentalist throughout the Makran Coast, but only garnered wider attention after his most recent recordings and videos. The Benju, was once a Japanese childrenโs toy called the taishลkoto before it was adopted by Balochi musicians and made into the refined folk instrument that it is today. Noor Bakhsh plays an electric Benju, getting his sound through an old pickup and small Phillips amp he bought from Karachi 2 decades ago. He carries forward the legacy of his teachers and inspirations such as Bilawal Belgium and Misri Khan Jamali but his own music elicits influences from various traditions and musical forms far beyond Balochistan. His virtuosic playing is deeply rooted in Balochi musical forms and enriched by his knowledge of South Asian Raags, which he also renders in his own, experimental style. ๐ถโจโจ
His repertoire includes Persian and Kurdish tunes that have probably floated in his land since before the modern borders of Iran and Pakistan were set up and Balochistan, divided as it were. In one of his recent recording sessions, he even played an Arabic Ghazal on his Benju. Needless to say, he also renders popular and folk tunes in all the major languages spoken across Pakistan. His Sindhi repertoire is particularly novel in that it reflects a beautiful conversation between the neighbouring musical cultures of Sindh and Balochistan. No surprises, that Noor Baksh plays several Bollywood songs too, after all, he has soaked the sounds around him like a sponge, including those of all birds in the mountains and the jungle near his village. Other than his diverse repertoire, he has several original compositions too, including one inspired by bird songs. His debut album, 'Jingulโ, was released digitally in September 2022, and came out on vinyl via the UKโs Hive Mind Records on September 15, 2023. ๐๐
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